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How To Write Clearly and Concisely

The document provides instructions for writing clearly and concisely in 6 steps: 1. Use active voice and keep sentences brief to engage readers. 2. Stick to plain language without flowery terms. Write the main point immediately in a short introduction. 3. Review writing for clarity and have others explain it to ensure understanding. 4. Revise writing to make it more concise while retaining meaning. 5. Eliminate redundant information and keep paragraphs short. 6. The writing process involves planning, organizing, drafting, revising and editing for clear communication.

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Avelardo Obligado
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
42 views

How To Write Clearly and Concisely

The document provides instructions for writing clearly and concisely in 6 steps: 1. Use active voice and keep sentences brief to engage readers. 2. Stick to plain language without flowery terms. Write the main point immediately in a short introduction. 3. Review writing for clarity and have others explain it to ensure understanding. 4. Revise writing to make it more concise while retaining meaning. 5. Eliminate redundant information and keep paragraphs short. 6. The writing process involves planning, organizing, drafting, revising and editing for clear communication.

Uploaded by

Avelardo Obligado
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to Write Clearly and Concisely

By an eHow Contributor

People are constantly bombarded with information. Attention spans grow shorter as available
information increases. If you want convey your information effectively, learn to write clearly and
concisely. Express yourself in short and simple language before you lose the reader's attention.

Instructions
1.
o 1

Use active voice. Avoid the passive voice as much as possible. This means write
sentences like "He won the race," instead of "The race was won by him." When
you write in the active voice, you write more clearly and concisely.

o 2

Keep your sentences brief or the audience gets bored and exhausted. Refrain from
writing run-on and complex sentences. Break sentences into individual thoughts
as much as possible. Use correct end punctuation to prevent run-ons.

o 3

Stick with plain language. If you want to write clearly and concisely, this is key.
Stay away from flowery language, excessive adjectives and obscure vocabulary.
Use the simplest and most common terms possible to express yourself.

o 4

Write the main point immediately. Use a short and simple introduction without
long explanations or excessive background information.

o 5

Review your writing for clarity. Re-read what you write and ask yourself if it
makes sense. Let someone else read it and make sure that he understands it. Have
him explain what you wrote in his own words to be sure your writing is clear.

o 6
Revise to write more concisely. Try to make the sentences shorter while still
saying the same thing. Leave only essential words that directly communicate the
point.

Tips & Warnings


 Eliminate any redundant information and keep paragraphs short.

How to Writing Skills 101


Steps to Better Writing
User-Submitted Article

Writing Skills 101 - A guide to the skills needed to writing an effective essay or assignment.
Easy to follow steps on how to write an essay that is clear, concise and informative.

Instructions
1. 1

Writing Skills 101 - How to write a clear, concise and informative essay:

 The Writing Process


o As we write, we engage in a number of actions, these include: planning, organizing,
drafting, revising and editing. Once you have chosen your desired topic, the planning
process begins. This can be accomplished by using one of the following techniques:
 Brainstorming - Search for ideas pertaining to the topic you have selected. Write them
down as they come to you. Ideas tend to generate other ideas, and through this process a
variety of thoughts will surface. List and bullet each subtopic that comes to mind.
 Freewriting - This is the practice of writing freely on anything that comes to mind. It is
a method of continuous writing, without stopping. This method allows all of your ideas to
flow on paper.
 Clustering and Branching - Clustering establishes the relationships between words and
phrases. This is a system that is beneficial to those who are considered visual learners.
Begin with a topic in the middle of a sheet of paper and circle it. Then as related ideas
develop, draw lines to connect the ideas generated to other ideas surrounding the topic.
As your ideas branch off from the topic, you may find that subtopics emerge and so on.

2. 2

o As you are writing, remember to be clear and concise, this will assist your reader in
understanding what you are attempting to convey in your writing. Also, keep in mind that
you are actively involved in your writing and already have a clear understanding of what
you want to say; but the reader is reading what you are communicating to him or her for
the first time, so clarity is important. Do not assume he or she understands all of the terms
you are using, explain anything that may be new or unfamiliar to others, so they will be
able to read your writing without hesitation.

3. 3

o Use active verbs. Avoid using common verbs by replacing them with synonyms such
as:
 To Be - to Exist
 To Have - To Possess
 To Do - To Accomplish

4. 4

o Avoid redundancy and repetition. Alter your wording; avoid repeating the same words
throughout your piece. Remove all unnecessary words that interfere with getting your
point across. This, too, assists in providing clarity to your writing. For example, instead
of writing:
 This was a topic that needed clarification. - Revise it to say:
 This topic needed clarification.

5. 5

o Always utilize the drafting and revision process. Write a first draft and revise it after
you have read and reread it, paying attention to the organization of your article and the
suggestions mentioned above. The practice of drafting and revision will aid in writing an
effective piece of informative material.

6. 6

o Finally, proofreading or editing is an essential part of creating a well written essay. As


the author or writer you are actively engaged in what is being written, and consequently
you are very familiar with the information you wish to convey to the reader. It is
imperative that you read your article out loud to either yourself or someone else. This will
enable you to discover any missed words or unclear sentences.

Read more: How to Writing Skills 101 | eHow.com


http://www.ehow.com/how_5242723_writing-skills.html#ixzz13cbAPSCe

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